Moccasin shoe process



Jan. 24, 1956 .1. GLASSMAN MOCCASIN SHOE PROCESS Filed June 2, 1955 Fig.

Fig. 4

IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent 1 2,731,653 MOCCASIN SHOE PROCESS James Glassman, South Portland, Maine Application June 2, 1955, Serial No. 512,751 1 Claim. (Cl. 12-142) This invention comprises a new and improved process for making moccasin type shoes of high quality by a sliplast or forced last process. It has been found that the desired high quality may be secured by effecting a slip lasting operation upon the upper under such favorable conditions that the fine lines of the last are imparted to the upper, and at the same time correct and accurate location of the moccasin seam and of the vamp and plug with re spect to each other is ensured without requiring any high degree of experience on the part of the shoe maker.

Going more into detail, the process of my invention is characterized by the following steps, viz. providing a vamp and plug having preformed stitch holes in their margins, properly locating the plug with respect to the vamp and uniting the two in a dry state at a few spaced points about the forepart of the vamp, then soaking the united parts, slipping a last under the plug, forcing it into the vamp and finally forming a moccasin seam with the assistance of the preformed stitch holes.

It will be apparent that by the steps above set forth the vamp and plug may be accurately located by match marks or by their supplementary configuration-s with the preformed holes of the parts in proper registration. The parts are then secured together still in dry state at spaced points by any suitable means preferably by three or more bar or tack stitches. These may be accurately and readily formed by machines designed for that purpose at a single depression of a treadle. After the parts have been united in this manner they are soaked and then subjected to a more or less conventional slip lasting operation. In this step a last of the proper size and contour is forced into the partially formed upper, beneath the plug and into the vamp thus stretching the upper under severe stress to the contour of the last so that when the upper has been allowed to dry all the fine lines of the last are brought out in it. At the same time the perforated edges of the'vamp and plug are brought into convenient position to be united by the characteristic hand sewn moccasin seam and are held in this relation by the bar stitches while the moccasin seam is formed.

These and other features and characteristics of my novel process will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred manner of carrying it out as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are views plug respectively,

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective showing the plug partialunited to the vamp by bar or tack stitches, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the lasted upper.

In carrying out the process herein illustrated a vamp and plug are first died or cut out of moccasin leather or leather of whatever kind is desired in the finished shoe. The vamp as shown in Fig. 1 is of conventional shape and is provided with a row of stitch holes 11 in its forepart. The plug 12 is similarly prepared, being fashioned with oppositely directed tabs 13 and provided with marginal stitch holes. These may be readily formed in the vamp and plug as presented in flat condition to a perforating machine provided with a gang of punches properly arranged to form a marginal row of stitch holes. The holes are formed with uniform spacing of about Vs" inside the marginal edge of the parts. Preferably and as herein shown the vamp is provided with a collar 15 folded over its top edge and extending around the rear portion of the vamp. It terminates on both sides at predetermined points in perspective of the vamp and 2,731,653 Patented Jan. 24, 1956 which coincide substantially with the rearmost stitch holes 11 of the vamp. The operation of forming the stitch holes 11 and 14 may be performed rapidly and accurately with the assistance of machines now readily available to the industry.

The inner marginal edges of both the vamp and the plug are now skived on an approximately angle as suggested in Figs. 1 and 2. The plug and vamp are now brought into proper relative positions by match marks or by registering the tabs 13 of the plug with the forward ends of the collar 15 and when so located are partially united by bar or tack stitches 16 located preferably as shown in Fig. 3. That is to say, one at the tip and one at each side of the forepart of the vamp. It will be understood that the parts of the upper may be handled very conveniently in dry state, accurately located and the bar stitches l6 conveniently inserted at the most effective points for determining permanently the location of the parts. In a No. 7 shoe for example the bar stitches 16 may be one inch apart measured along the peripheral edge of the vamp.

Having united the parts in this manner they are thoroughly soaked to render the leather soft and pliable. Then the last 17 is slipped under the plug 12 and forced fully into the last as suggested in Fig. 4. In this operation the plug is lifted to its proper position and the vamp subjected to severe strain which conforms it to the contour of. the last. In forcing the last into place it is usually convenient to embrace the toe end of the shoe with one hand so as to ensure that the top line of the vamp is brought into the proper location with respect to the top surface and marginal edge of the last forepart.

Having inserted the last as above explained the moccasin seam 18 may be formed with the assistance of the predetermined stitch holes preferably by employing two threads as in the desired hand sewn lock stitch moccasin seam. The bar stitches 16 remain in place during the stitching step so that there is no possible danger of displacement or disarrangement of the parts. The stitched upper is allowed to remain upon the last until it has substantially dried out and when the last is removed its fine lines are found to be reproduced in the upper.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 488,893, filed February 17, 1955, in which is disclosed and claimed a different and broader process in which advantage is taken of the step of preliminarily uniting the vamp and plug off the last by stitches which take up the strain of forced lasting and conforming those parts of the upper partially to the shape of the last thereby facilitating the formation of the hand sewn seam formed through the preformed stitch holes.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The process of making moccasin type shoes from a vamp and a plug having corresponding preformed stitch holes in their margins, comprising first uniting the vamp and plug in dry condition by a series of bar stitches ins'erted through said preformed stitch holes and spaced from each other about the tip and forepart, then soaking these partially united parts, forcing a last beneath the plug and into the vamp and thereby partially conforming these parts to the last, and finally uniting the vamp and plug by a hand sewn moccasin seam formed through the said preformed stitch holes while the bar stitches remain in place holding the vamp and plug in proper relation for such stitching while on the last.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,412,051 Lee Dec. 3, 1946 2,537,602 Potvin Jan. 9, 1951 2,564,301 Dolan Aug. 14, 1951 

